On October 30, after more than five years of construction, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport’s Terminal 3 officially entered operation together with its fifth runway. This marks a major leap in capacity: the airport’s near-term annual passenger throughput now reaches 120 million, with cargo throughput at 3.8 million tons, and its ultimate terminal capacity is planned to reach 140 million passengers and 6 million tons. The opening of this new terminal represents not only a physical expansion, but also a strategic elevation of Baiyun Airport’s role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s aviation ecosystem.
The Greater Bay Area currently hosts 11 civil transport airports, seven of which lie within its core region. These airports jointly handled more than 227.94 million passengers and over 9.3573 million tons of cargo in 2024. As global economic activity becomes increasingly time-sensitive, airports—by virtue of their unmatched speed and wide transit radius—are assuming a central role in drawing international resources.
Wang Guowen, director of the Institute of Logistics and Supply Chain Management of the China (Shenzhen) Institute for Comprehensive Development, emphasized that the 21st century is an era shaped by aviation, in which airports increasingly function as engines of urban development. He noted that the commissioning of Terminal 3 will further strengthen Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport’s position as a world-class hub and reinforce the Greater Bay Area’s standing as an international aviation gateway.
Since beginning operations in 2004, Baiyun Airport has processed more than 950 million passengers and over 28 million tons of cargo and mail. Today, the first group of domestic flights from China Eastern Airlines (including Shanghai Airlines and China United Airlines), Juneyao Airlines, and Okay Airways have already moved into Terminal 3.
By January 2026, Air China, Shenzhen Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Capital Airlines, West Air, Tianjin Airlines, Lucky Air, Urumqi Air, Spring Airlines, as well as foreign carriers operating out of Terminal 1, are expected to join them. With Terminal 3 in operation, Baiyun Airport will be capable of handling up to 150 flights per hour during peak periods, averaging about 2,100 flights per day. Operational capacity in the near term will support 120 million passengers and 3.8 million tons of cargo annually, a sharp rise compared to the airport’s 2024 figures of 76.369 million passengers and 2.3819 million tons of cargo.
The doubling of capacity from 70 million to 140 million passengers may seem bold, but demand trends fully justify such ambition. In 2018, when Terminal 2 opened with a design capacity of 45 million passengers, Baiyun Airport aimed to raise total throughput to 80 million. Yet only one year later, the airport had already surpassed 73 million passengers, nearing 80% of its designed limit. As Guangzhou’s economy has expanded and the Greater Bay Area has grown more tightly integrated, air-transport demand has accelerated sharply. In October alone, Baiyun Airport handled more than 7.6 million passengers, an 11% year-on-year increase and a new monthly record.
Terminal 3’s design reflects a shift toward integrated, multimodal transport. As an air-land transportation hub, T3 incorporates 6 platforms and 14 tracks, enabling high-efficiency air-rail transfers. Wang Guowen highlighted that T3 enables vertical connections between high-speed rail and air travel, which shorten transfer distances, improve overall efficiency, and enhance user experience compared with the more common horizontal transfer models. Baiyun Airport is therefore no longer a stand-alone aviation node; it has become a “transportation heart” that drives the rapid circulation of people, goods, and capital throughout the Greater Bay Area. This integration strengthens Guangdong’s ability to allocate global resources and deepens the region’s participation in international industrial-chain networks.
Behind the opening of Terminal 3 is the emergence of a world-class airport cluster. Among the seven civil transport airports within the Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, and Hong Kong International Airport have each surpassed the 50-million-passenger threshold, forming the core triad of the region’s aviation network.
In 2024, Baiyun Airport reached 76.369 million passengers, up 20.89% year-on-year and setting a new record; Shenzhen Bao’an Airport handled 61.477 million passengers, making it the fourth airport in mainland China to exceed 60 million; and Hong Kong International Airport processed 53.1 million passengers and more than 363,000 aircraft movements, representing increases of 34.3% and 31.6% respectively compared with 2023. Hong Kong also handled 4.9 million tons of cargo, a 14% rise year-on-year, reaffirming its position as a leading international air-cargo hub.
Each of these airports plays a distinct role. Hong Kong Airport offers the highest level of internationalization with extensive global connectivity and strong passenger and cargo flows. Macau Airport maintains close links with Portuguese-speaking countries. Shenzhen Airport has built its development strategy around serving high-tech industries and strengthening ties with Southeast Asia. Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, meanwhile, is positioned as a world-class hub serving the entire country, supported by a dense network of intercontinental routes.
With the coordination of these major facilities, the Greater Bay Area has achieved 4-hour coverage of Southeast Asia and 12-hour access to most major global destinations. Yet experts believe that the region still has significant room for growth. Unlike Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu—cities that have already entered an era of dual-airport systems—the Greater Bay Area’s aviation layout, though extensive, has not yet fully matched the region’s economic scale, population base, and industrial strength. As industrial upgrading accelerates and population continues to concentrate within the region, both passenger and cargo aviation demand are expected to grow substantially.
Major airports across the region are already advancing their next phase of development. The Guangzhou New Airport project has been approved, and preliminary supporting works are underway. Shenzhen Bao’an Airport’s third runway has completed flight calibration and will soon begin operations. Macau Airport began its expansion and reclamation project last year, while the three-runway system at Hong Kong International Airport has already been fully commissioned. Together, these developments signify a collective upgrade of the region’s aviation infrastructure.
Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the Greater Bay Area’s airport cluster will need to focus on improving connectivity, strengthening network resilience, and addressing structural shortcomings. According to Wang Guowen, seamless integration between different modes of transportation is essential for both development efficiency and risk resistance. He suggests that the region should deepen coordination among airports, high-speed railways, urban transit, and port systems, build additional interconnection corridors, and enhance the overall robustness of the transportation network. By reducing system vulnerability and improving transfer convenience, the Greater Bay Area will be better positioned to support global supply-chain flows and capture future opportunities in aviation.
As Terminal 3 comes into operation and major airports across the region move forward with expansion, the Greater Bay Area’s world-class airport cluster is entering a new stage of high-quality, high-efficiency growth. Together, these coordinated advancements will help the region strengthen its international competitiveness and continue shaping its role as a major global transportation gateway.
Source: ycwb, sina finance, cnbayarea org, sfccn
